Finding the Forward, Part One (HockeyVerse)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Verity

I sat at a high-top in the lobby bar of the Glitter City Stonefeld Hotel and Conference Center. Creed, Grace, and Spencer sat with me as we sipped drinks and ate greasy bar food. While dressed for the party, I only occasionally popped in to check on my sister. Mercy was with her agent who was introducing her to sponsors and helping her work the room.

Dad sat with us. We’d literally taken him from the conference. Sadly, we hadn’t locked Mumsy in a closet. She was unhappy about our ambush, but couldn’t protest considering we’d been in public.

My phone buzzed and a silly selfie of Grif popped up on my phone.

Grif

We won 2-0. Leaving the arena soon.

Me

Great job!

They’d gotten a shutout. Well, then.

Grif

This is Dean. Shutout!!!

The accompanying picture was mostly Dean’s tongue. I stifled a chuckle as I replied.

Me

Amazing!

Mercy joined us. “I’m done for the night.”

“Did you want to hang out with us? Meet up with your friends? Go up to the room since you’re meeting Dad bright and early for breakfast?” I offered, hoping going to bed was an option. Not only had we gotten up early, but there was a three-hour time difference. The pills most athletes took to help with jet lag didn’t work for me.

“That party was so boring.” Mercy plopped down and animatedly told Dad all about it. She wore a cute, bright blue cocktail dress and had a bunch of beaded bracelets on her wrists.

“Mercy.” Riley waved her over. A bunch of rookies who preferred hanging out in the lobby, eating snacks, and making bracelets to the party had adopted her.

“Dad, hope you’re having fun. But I’m being summoned.” Mercy gave Dad a big hug, then ran off to join Riley and the others.

Dad looked in her direction, wistful, scent a bit salty. “And she’s off. You’re all off, living your lives, growing up...”

“We couldn’t stay with you forever. And you still have the littles.” I frowned. What did they expect?

Mercy bounced back over. “Do you have more cake pops?”

“A few back in the room,” I told her. “You can have them. If you’re hungry, I can go back with you to the party, and we’ll raid the tables.” Not that I wanted to. I kept feeling watched.

Mercy rolled her eyes. “The food was dumb. I’m going to order deep-fried cookie dough after I get the cake pops.”

She, Riley, Jack and Kaiko ran toward the elevators.

The server took away our finished snacks and brought us more drinks. Spencer and I chatted about some recent breakthroughs in genetics. Dad showed Grace photos of the littles, who were back in London with Harry.

My phone buzzed again. This time with a picture of Dean wearing a chunky red beanie while snuggled into Grif. I hearted it.

“Oooh. Verity’s texting Airplane Guy.” Creed smirked and tried to snatch my phone.

I smacked him and pulled my phone away from him.

“You’re seeing someone. Don’t you have enough going on? I mean, you don’t want your studies to suffer. NYIT wants you to stretch your research.” Disappointment crossed Dad’s face, and it stabbed me in the heart.

My shoulders slumped. Nothing would ever be good enough, would it?

“No. You don’t get to do that, Nate. Verity’s allowed to date.” Grace turned to him and scowled.

“He’s nice, Dad. He’s got a good job. Mercy likes him,” I replied softly. If Dad judged Grif as a person, not an athlete, I think they’d get along well.

“Oh. Is he a colleague? Someone you met on campus?” Dad brightened. He’d met Mom, Mumsy, and Baba at a chemistry conference, who were all friends. Mumsy was his scent match. When I was little, I loved to hear the story of them literally colliding. It was like a fairytale.

Unfortunately, their sweet meet was only part of the tale, and it wasn’t all happy.

“Airplane Guy. She met him on an airplane , Dad,” Creed said with a roll of his eyes as he took another sip of his drink.

“He’s not an omega, is he?” Worry creased Dad’s face.

“Why does it matter, Dad? We’re alphas. It’s not uncommon.” Creed gave him a look and squeezed my hand.

We were adults. Who lived on our own. Yet their disapproval still cut so hard. My big brother was just better at hiding it.

“I’m seeing a beta. He’s married to an omega. There might be an alpha or two in the mix,” I told him, picking up my vodka pineapple and playing with the little stirring stick. “He’s not in academia, nor is he a scientist.”

“Oh.” Dad’s head tilted. “He’s in a pack? Are you–”

“She’s doing fine , Nate. Not everyone fucks up and you can’t dictate their lives because you’re afraid they’ll make mistakes like you did,” Grace replied, taking a sip of her whiskey smash.

Dad winced. Sure, it was harsh. But Grace had paid dearly for the parents’ mistakes.

“I’m being cautious, Dad. We haven’t been seeing each other for very long. We’ve established boundaries. I’m not having sleepovers with Mercy at home. He’s away for work a lot. We’re... we’re still feeling things out and getting to know each other. I like him, Dad,” I confessed. “So much.”

Every day that feeling, that intensity, grew. It was both thrilling and terrifying.

Grace reached over the table and squeezed my hand. “I’m so excited you found him.”

Dad looked at his phone and sighed. Most likely Mumsy was bored and wanted to leave. She was upstairs in the business center having no interest in us grown children.

“I... I see. Ver, I’m not trying to upset you. It’s nice that you found someone you like. I’m worried that–” Dad’s attention focused over my shoulder, a curious look crossing his face.

A kiss landed on my cheek as an arm wrapped around my shoulders and the scent of rain enveloped me. “Hey, Gorgeous. Love the dress.”

It was the same lavender one I’d worn on our dinner date.

“Grif. You’re here.” Excitement shot through me as I reached up and ran a hand through his beard. Still in his suit, he looked good enough to eat.

His lips met mine. We kissed a little deeper than I’d like in front of the dad who’d just chastised me for dating, but not so intense that it was inappropriate. Creed whistled.

Grif’s eyes went to my dad, as his arm stayed around me possessively. “Hi, I’m Grif. Verity’s boyfriend .”

“Oh. My. Goodness. Here come the boys .” Grace giggled, her voice sing-song.

“I played a shutout.” Dean launched himself under my other arm.

He also looked tasty. Moss tickled my nose. Jonas. I couldn’t see him, but I felt him behind me. It felt comforting. Like he had my back.

“Well, this is a surprise.” I leaned into Grif and Dean, grateful for their calming presence–and the interruption.

Grace was right. Just because Dad and the parents massively fucked up starting their pack didn’t mean I would.

“We’re staying here, then leaving in the morning , ” Dean told me, grabbing my drink and taking a sip. “Ooh, tropical. I’m Dean, that’s Jonas.” He waved down a server and ordered drinks for them.

“Oh, you’re Verity’s... guys. I didn’t know you were here on business, too.” Dad frowned and appraised their nice suits. “What do you do again?”

“They’re in the ice business.” Creed started laughing.

Dad nodded, that frown still twitching on his lips. Holding up his drink, he rattled the ice in his glass. “I suppose ice is a lucrative business. Everyone needs ice.”

Grace buried her face in Spencer’s shoulder. But then I hadn’t known who Grif was either.

Dad’s phone vibrated. He picked it up and typed something.

I tipped my head back. “Hi, Jonas.”

Jonas, looking ever the bad boy, even in a navy suit, gave me a nod. “Verity.”

Him calling me Verity and not little alpha made disappointment zing through me.

Grace caught my eye and mouthed nice job .

“Verity’s boys are hockey players, Dad. Famous ones that play on TV. Ice business. I was being silly,” Creed said.

“When did you start liking hockey? First that sweatshirt you lived in all summer, and now this. What airplane did you meet him on?” Dad looked confused.

“The one where she crawled out the window to see her siblings.” Grif’s voice went dry as he planted a possessive kiss on the top of my head.

“Oh. We really did forget, things were happening so quickly. I hadn’t expected Briar to let me out of the contract so I could take the offer at Queen’s University. We had to act so fast if we were going to be settled in London in time for classes to start.” Dad frowned and his shoulders hunched, head bowing slightly.

Forgot? It was on the calendar in the kitchen in purple marker.

“Thank you for taking care of my sister that night.” Creed looked at Grif.

Grif, still propping me up like he was a garden stake, gave him a nod. “I have sisters. If they’d had a day like that, I’d appreciate someone being kind to them, too.”

Dean elbowed Grif, then jerked his chin up.

“Oh. Right.” A goofy grin on his face, he reached into his pocket and dug out a crochet omega lily, and handed it to me with a flourish.

“For me?” I held it to my heart. “It’s beautiful!”

“I traded a puck for it at the game today.” Pride colored his face.

While I knew kids would bring signs offering candy for pucks, I didn’t know people brought things like that to trade. The attention to detail in the tiny lily’s colorway was exquisite.

“Thank you. I love it.” I leaned in and kissed him. So sweet. Especially since he knew I researched omega lilies.

The stem was bendy, so I attached it to the handle of my purse.

Mumsy, in all her suited, blonde statuesque glory, marched over us, laptop case over her shoulder as she slung her arms possessively around Dad. She gave my guys the stink-eye.

“Nate, love, I know you’re having a good time with the children, but it’s late.” She melted a little as she nuzzled him. While she wasn’t always the best parent to us, she always tried to be a good alpha to him.

Grif’s arm tightened around me. Dean wedged himself on my lap the best he could. A hand rested on the back of my neck as Jonas came up so close behind me that we touched. His warmth was reassuring–as was his blatant display of possession.

“Mum, why don’t you call the car to take you to your hotel and wait for it, and I’ll walk Dad out in a moment?” Creed said, trying to be ever the diplomat. His relationship with his bio mom was complicated.

“I was simply being polite and saying hello to everyone.” Her blue eyes swept across everyone at the table. She didn’t like Spencer or Compass BioTek, so she didn’t acknowledge him.

Mumsy’s unrelenting gaze focused on me, eyes narrowing. “You’re kidding me.”

“Verity’s allowed to date now. They’re in the ice business,” Dad said slowly.

Mumsy scoffed. “How disappointing. You know, we’re absolutely appalled by your recent behavior.”

“I’m allowed to know where my money goes, Mumsy,” I replied, insides twisting. Why did we have to do this now?

Really, I shouldn’t have to do this at all.

“Pip, there’s no need for this. She has a point. I didn’t know the cows didn’t get bought.” Dad’s voice tightened, though he didn’t extract himself from her embrace.

Grace scowled at her as Spencer moved a fork out of Grace’s reach.

“You don’t have to take this,” Jonas whispered quietly, the hand on my neck moving up so he could tangle his fingers in the back of my hair.

“I don’t need anyone’s approval to date. I’m twenty-five .” My voice went tart. Jonas’ words, their touch, gave me strength. I gave Grif, then Dean, a kiss on the cheek to punctuate it. Her mouth opened in protest, and I shook my head, the guys making me brave.

Mumsy looked over at Mercy and the others as they danced around the lobby. “Why did you allow her to wear that?”

“She looks nice. They’re all dressed like that. It’s rather elegant,” Dad said quietly.

“Verity is doing just fine raising your child on your behalf because you’ve decided to start a new life elsewhere, without them,” Grif said in his fierce, protective voice.

Dad flinched, but Grif was right. I leaned into Grif, giving him a squeeze, my heart bursting with love.

“Stay out of this,” Mumsy retorted, making a little growl.

Dean whimpered at the show of alpha force. Something in me snapped. I pulled both of them closer. While I appreciated Grif sticking up for me, it was beyond time I stood up for myself.

“Don’t you dare speak to them like that,” I snarled, possessiveness washing over me. They were mine.

“Don’t speak to me like that.” Mumsy drew herself up to her full height, which still was less than mine.

Nevertheless, she was an imposing woman. Even on this side of the table, I could feel her dominance.

Years of being chastised by the alpha moms made my shoulders slump on instinct. As my head ducked, Jonas’ hand, still tangled in the hair at the nape of my neck, slid toward my ear. His fingers darted to the underside of my jaw, a few inches past my ear, mostly hidden by my hair. They poked into my jaw, hard, as if trying to keep my chin up. His other hand settled on my shoulder, moving it back into position, as if covertly saying don’t you dare.

“Pip, stop,” Dad pleaded, his apricot scent souring.

Spencer and Creed went both went stiff, gaze focused on her. Though Spencer had an arm around Grace. Probably to keep her from stabbing Mumsy with a fork.

Dean’s gaze pleaded with me, squirming with the alpha pheromones being thrown around. Grif met my eyes, giving me a nod as if to say it’s time.

Words had power. The power to help. The power to heal. The power to hurt.

I was over letting their words hurt me.

“Pack’s dissolved. You’re not my parent anymore, Pippa .” It took all my resolve to say that, my voice quiet but firm.

It was true. I had to file special paperwork after the pack dissolution in order for Mercy to still legally be considered my sister given we shared no bio-parents.

Mumsy scowled, and Dad looked sad. That was their fault for not considering the ramifications of their actions. They could’ve dissolved the pack another way and chose not to.

“Once you told me that respect was earned. So’s being a parent. At least Dad’s trying. I owe you nothing. You have no control over me,” I growled, voice still low. As soon as I said that, I felt so much stronger. Freer.

Mumsy tossed her head back and laughed. “So dramatic, as usual. In public, nonetheless. How embarrassing.”

Her laughter made me flinch. I felt the slighted smack on my ass cheek, which made me sit up straight. Jonas, probably, but I didn’t look at him. Instead, I gave Mumsy a mom look of my own. After all, it worked great on rookies.

“Pip. That’s enough.” Dad’s voice broke. “You’re right, it’s late. I... I think it’s time to turn in. I can’t stay up as late as I used to.”

“Mum, you’re the one being embarrassing.” Creed stood, look challenging, his nectarine scent spicy with anger.

“Professor, you're welcome to stay with us.” Grace scowled at Mumsy, the fork in her hand. Spencer joined her and tried to pry the fork from her clenched fist.

My men stayed by me protectively, forming a wall of love.

“I’m fine. Promise.” Dad stood and came over to me, leaning across my man-guardian to kiss me on the cheek. “I love you, Ver.” He pulled Grace to him and kissed the top of her head, then hugged Creed tight. “Love you both. I’ll see everyone tomorrow.”

“Don’t forget to say goodbye to Mercy,” I told him, feeling incredibly conflicted about Dad leaving with Mumsy.

We watched Dad give Mercy a hug, then the two of them left. Mumsy’s arm went gently and protectively over his shoulder.

“Is it okay for him to leave with her? They’re in England, right? Aren’t their omega rights laws different from here?” Jonas whispered.

“He’s fine for now,” Creed sighed. “She’s always been good to him.”

“It’s nice that the littles have no filter. They keep us up with what’s going on while not knowing what they’re doing, even if they don’t understand time zones,” Grace said. “I still can’t grasp how a twatwaffle like her could be his scent match. The professor is a good guy when he’s not being steamrolled by the alphahole patrol.”

“People change, Grace,” Creed said quietly.

This all hurt my heart. I patted Dean to indicate that I needed him off my lap. “I need to use the restroom.”

Grace set the fork on the table. “I’ll go with you.”

I eased off the chair, Grif helping me gently. For a moment, I leaned into him, letting his rain scent fill my lungs as his chest rose and fell under my head. His arms wrapped around me, then let me go.

Straightening, I looked for my crutch. Jonas handed it to me.

“Thanks.” I slumped against it, worn out by the long day, and by the emotional exhaustion that came from dealing with Mumsy. She’d be pissed that I’d challenged her in public.

Did it even matter anymore? Maybe I should change my number and be done with everyone but Dad.

Jonas blocked my view of the others with his body. His hand tipped my head up, his body extremely close. Those amber eyes met mine. “I’m glad you stood up to her.”

His voice went growly and low. He continued to hold my gaze, hand still under my chin. That gaze held no judgment, no malice.

All I saw was compassion.

“That woman doesn’t deserve your tears, Little Alpha.” Jonas’ thumb brushed the corner of my eye, heat searing me like a brand. His hand lingered, his gaze unwavering, unrelenting, as something unfamiliar zinged between us.

My face leaned into his hand as his fingers trailed down my face, eyes continuing to hold mine. They didn’t quite smolder, but there was something there.

Something possessive.

Something I craved in the deepest depths of my soul.

Jonas’ hand dropped. My face ached to be touched by him once again. He squeezed my shoulder, breaking eye contact and taking a step back. He jerked his head toward Grace, who waited expectantly, holding our purses. I nodded back, then took my purse from Grace.

“Sweet baby Jesus, that was hot as fuck,” Grace breathed, as we crossed the lobby to the bathroom.

My heart continued to thump in my ears from that interaction. “He handed me my crutch.”

“Yes, he did. He was also this close to calling you baby girl. No, seriously, that was hot. Also, who is he? You’ve told me nothing about tall, blue, and dangerous. You're holding out on me,” she breathed.

“Grace.” I gave her an incredulous look as we entered the bathroom.

She laughed and chose a stall. “I’m mated, not dead. They're ridiculously good looking, and so very tall and muscular.”

“Yeah, they are,” I admitted, taking another and going about my business. “Jonas is Dean’s alpha.”

“The one that hates you and doesn’t think you can be a good alpha? That wasn’t the look of someone who hates you.” There was a flush of the toilet.

No, it wasn’t. My breath caught as I imagined him touching my face again. How he’d literally had my back, holding me up and keeping me from showing defeat in front of Mumsy. How he’d said that’s my little alpha to me on the plane. I finished up and flushed, coming out to the sink where Grace washed her hands.

“He wasn’t convinced I was alpha enough for Grif , ” I said quietly, washing my hands under the warm water. It was a valid concern. Bringing someone into the pack was delicate. There’d been a lot of yelling when Harry joined the pack when I was a teenager.

Even more when he and Dad decided to have more kids via surrogates.

Objects had flown when Creed ran into Grace at a conference, realized she might be our missing sister, and introduced her to Dad.

“I think Jonas has decided to give you some private tutoring to catch you up.” She laughed, drying her hands. “Grif and Dean are into you. Which one is getting bread from the starter I brought you?”

“Dean. Sourdough’s his favorite. Like I told Dad, I really like Grif. Unless betas can have alpha scent matches, it feels fast for this to be love,” I confessed, reapplying my lip gloss. I needed some advice from someone who both had a scent match she adored and was very much in love with people not her soulmates.

“I’m not sure scent matches have to be alphas and omegas. Also, you don’t have to be scent matches to be madly in love. Sometimes you just know . It is okay to be afraid. Love can be a little scary sometimes.” Grace put a tiny hand on my shoulder.

I gulped. “I’m glad to hear that. Because I’m a little afraid. Of love. Of fucking up like the parents did.”

She squeezed me tight. “I won’t let you fuck up like they did. Also, you have too big of a heart to let someone ghost their pregnant live-in girlfriend just because they found their soulmate. You’d never traffic their baby.”

I squeezed her back. The little I knew about Grace’s upbringing outside our pack was pretty awful.

“Thank you. Every day my feelings for Grif grow more and more intense. I’ve never felt this way about anyone. Not to mention Dean is...” I chuckled, cheeks warming.

“A horny giant omega that demands your attention, inserts himself into your life, and then makes you forget what it was ever like without him? Yeah, I have one of those,” she laughed.

Chance

Baba won’t let me take the train by myself. I want to see Mercy play.

My alpha dad, my beta mom, and my middle-school-aged brother Chance had moved to the Bay Area, where Baba was from. It was a super short ride from here on the ultra-bullet, but I understood him being a little young to take the train solo. Still, it saddened me that Mama wouldn't take the time to come. Given she had mostly worked from home, she was the one who'd made most of her games over the years.

“Grace.” I showed her the text. There was too much going on for me to make it happen. However, I wanted to see him. They were strict on the phone and screen usage, so we didn’t talk much. Chance and I were full bio-siblings, as was Dare, my brother going to university in Boston.

“On it. We’ll send Creed. I won’t get anywhere near him,” Grace told me. Her relationship with most of the six parents was rocky.

I let him know I was handling it. We left the bathroom and made our way back to the table.

Back at the table, Riley and Mercy devoured deep fried cookie dough. Grif’s head turned, his eyes meeting mine, a big, goofy smile crossing his face.

“I think they like you,” Grace whispered, grinning.

They did. I just might be in love with them, too.